June OWL | Pitch like a Professional: Conference primer with Anita Joy

In OWLS by RWA Web Admin

About the Course

Gearing up for the RWAust conference in just a couple of months? Excited but silently terrified about the opportunity to pitch your book to an editor or agent? “Pitch Like a Professional” is a four-week conference primer designed to get your synopsis, query letter, in-person pitch (and you!) glinting with readiness.

The course will be delivered via Moodle in a series of weekly ‘lessons’ at the start of the week and an ongoing Q/A and discussions as well as critique of participant examples through each week.

Each week will focus on one aspect of the pitching and submission skillset. As well as learning the secrets to successful submission, you will work on your own synopsis, query letter and pitch and then have an (optional) private session with your trainer to practice your pitch in a safe, one-on-one, face-to-face environment and get some feedback.

Week 1 – the (not so) dreaded synopsis (participants will have the bones of their synopsis drafted)
Week 2 – crafting the query (participants will write a query letter)
Week 3 – perfecting your pitch (participants will have a completed pitch)
Week 4 – practicing your pitch (an opportunity for participants to practice their pitch, live, in a simulated, one-on-one Skype environment.

Total student commitment:
Minimum (lurkers) – 5 hours
Average (participants) – 12 hours *this course involves practical development of your own synopsis outline, query letter and pitch so you will need to make time to work on these to get the most out of the course.

Course Dates: 29 May – 25 June, 2017
Cost: RWA Member—$30. Non-RWA Member—$80.


About the Presenter

AJ Blythe (Anita Joy) is an experienced TAFE trainer and educator (and Cosy Mystery author) who has done her fiction-writing apprenticeship over many years in the close company of some of her favourite published authors. She is that rarest of author-creatures: an author who loves to pitch. She thrives in short-form pitching and thinking on her feet. She is an active member of the ‘Query Shark’ (agent Janet Reid) international group of Reiders. Since joining RWA in 2008 she been a finalist in the High 5, Ripping Start and Valerie Parv Award and won the Selling Synopsis award in 2013.


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